He couldn't help himself, he laughed so hard that he cried the second she hugged him as tightly as he'd remembered. The hell Hopper had been through got him here, with her, where everything would be okay.
"Hey," he replied in a watery voice, face nuzzling into Eleven's hair and arms wrapping steadily around her back. A thumb rubbed gently across the back of her neck, conveying all the love and comfort he had to give. To have her here again — it was so unreal.
Not letting her go, he merely pulled back a little to kiss her cheeks, gently wiping away her tears and smiling at how they mirrored one another.
"Sorry, kid. Got stuck in Russia and they didn't wanna let me leave. But I'm here now and I'm never leaving you again, you got it?"